Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 553: Hard working Empress
First serving as Lyra's one-day maid, then spending the next day accompanying her on a thorough night market tour through Losterling, Astrid had fully concluded her personal time after relaxing her mind. She dove straight into work, unseen during daytime, and sometimes even absent from returning to the mansion at night.
According to messages from the maid corps, the Regent Princess was temporarily lodging in a frontline town, preparing to discuss city defenses with military commanders the next morning. She is currently not in Losterling.
Lyra naturally understood Astrid's busyness and would not disturb her at such a critical moment. Instead, she silently stayed within the estate, just like most soldiers evacuated from the frontlines, waiting for both body and soul to recover, ready at any moment to plunge into the next battle.
Meanwhile, as the Valeria Empire actively constructed its second defensive line, the Church Knight Corps, silent for over a week, finally breached several magical barriers left behind by Duke Charles, reaching the outskirts of several villages closest to the town's defenses.
Everything unfolded exactly as Charles had conservatively estimated, both the scale of enemy forces entering the empire and the timing of their breakthrough. Every move the enemy made was within their plans.
The preemptive scorched-earth operation left these villages devoid of habitable shelters. Vast open fields yield no crops, no fruit, not even seeds or roots remained. This completely eliminated any possibility of the Church Knight Corps resupplying locally or sustaining war through plunder.
With less than a month until early winter, rising snowstorms began filling the roads. The knights' iron hooves sank into snow, and within half a day, deep hoofprints were entirely buried and erased by wind and snow, leaving no trace of troop movements.
Breaking through the Liya Tower Fortress meant, in strategic terms, that the Valeria Empire could no longer confine the Kingdom of Velys's army to a few narrow mountain passes. The enemy now had far more potential attack points and greater tactical flexibility, while the Valeria Empire's already insufficient defensive forces would be further stretched thin across the expanded frontline, becoming even more fragmented and easier to break.
For the Kingdom of Velys, this was undoubtedly good news, compared to the prolonged and fruitless siege warfare previously, this costly victory could at least be widely publicized domestically, calming the restless hearts of some nobles. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Of course, beyond these visible benefits, the Church Knight Corps now faces harsher challenges than before. The most obvious was that the moment they stepped onto Valeria Imperial soil, the Kingdom of Velys's previously relatively private military deployments began to be exposed to the defenders' sight.
This was no longer the border where both armies faced off, where even a bird flying across would be shot down by pre-established magic arrays. The vast strategic depth gave the Valeria Empire's forces ample space to gather intelligence. Wherever the Church Knight Corps went, their marching speed, soldier composition, this series of information gradually lost its veil of mystery within the transparent net woven by magic.
This was the so-called home advantage. Duke Charles had guarded this territory for years, intimately familiar with every terrain and transportation route. His intelligence units always obtain first-hand military reports. In contrast, the Kingdom of Velys, long listed as sensitive by the previous emperor, only knew a few caravan routes and the path taken by carriages to the capital during past magical exchange tournaments.
9:20 AM, Imperial capital City, the magnificent Royal Palace.
A soft golden-haired, green-eyed girl sat upon a majestic throne far larger than herself. An elaborately decorated pure white gown covered her petite frame. Two snow-white arms worn exquisite white silk sleeves, revealing only the smooth, fair wrists and delicate, slender hands emerging from the flared cuffs.
Her smooth, tender legs were wrapped in pure white silk stockings, silver rings gently cinching the tops. Exquisitely embroidered honeysuckle patterns scattered across the white fabric, faintly revealing the delicate pink beneath. A pair of moon-shaped, smooth and beautiful white-silk-clad feet rested within metal-latticed silver high heels, perfectly accentuating the wearer's noble aura.
Amalia propped her cheek with one hand, her two white-silk-covered legs elegantly crossed. The imperial scepter leaned diagonally against the desk before her, her overall posture mirroring the former silver-haired Regent Princess.
After negotiations with the major nobles, Amalia had nominally gained control over most Arcanist mages, though only temporary wartime command, it still marked an initial concentration of power.
Especially notable was the rotating shift system for Arcanist mages. Not only did it ensure frontline troops wouldn't be wiped out by sudden devastating magic, but it also accelerated intelligence transmission along the defensive line, reducing message delays, each Arcanist mage had to first enter the capital, receive the empress' orders, before heading to their designated location. When returning to their family's fief, they also had to arrive early in the capital to report mission status.
Thanks to this measure, Amalia received news of the Church Knight Corps breaking through the blockade and reaching the second defensive line barely three days after it happened at the front.
"The Kingdom of Velys has established a temporary base near Rockster Village. The continuously operating [Holy Radiant City] is helping the Church Knight Corps resist the snowstorm."
"This special magic, after prolonged study by Charlotte and Mr. Anthony who conducted field research, is unanimously believed capable of transforming invisible light-elemental particles into solid form."
"Duration is unknown, but based on current manifestations, as long as mental energy continuously flows in, [Holy Radiant City] won't collapse. Its only weakening period is daily from midnight to one AM, when light-elemental particles are scarcest and most inactive. If one wishes to breach [Holy Radiant City], that would be the optimal time."
In fact, it wasn't just [Holy Radiant City]. The Church Knight Corps, heavily reliant on holy light, generally uses light magic. At night, their strength would similarly drop significantly, unless they were Arcanist mages capable of drawing elemental particles from space, who could bypass this limitation.
Warm sunlight streamed through the various stained-glass windows at top of the palace, falling upon Amalia's wheat-sheaf-golden hair cascading down her back, making the dress's decorations shimmer brilliantly. It also accentuated the parts of her young body not covered by the noble gown, making her paler, more noble and inviolable.
Flipping pages while carefully reading frontline battle reports, Amalia furrowed her delicate brows, her emerald eyes clouded with faint contemplation.
Daring to advance to Rockster Village near the second defensive line at this snowstorm-approaching time, did the Kingdom of Velys truly not care about supply needs, or did they have another method to stabilize logistics?
Amalia admitted her understanding and command of warfare paled in comparison to the battle-hardened Duke Charles. Yet she knew one principle: troops don't move until provisions lead the way. The fallen Liya Tower Fortress was still a considerable distance from Rockster Village. Now that snowstorms had already begun in scale, ensuring logistical transport will inevitably cost many times more manpower and resources than before.
The Kingdom of Velys wasn't rich enough to use only Peak tier Master Knights soldiers for supply transport.
Carefully reviewing the intelligence dossier before her, Amalia soon found Charles's assessment of the Kingdom of Velys's logistics system.
"In the early stages of war, the Kingdom of Velys mainly used the Church Knight Corps to fight. They are the backbone of the Church of Light and the most threatening military force."
"Based on intelligence provided by the Regent Princess, prolonged combat has consumed large numbers of the Church Knight Corps' active forces, and internal divisions are already emerging. The greatest source of discontent stems from resentment toward domestic nobles."
In Charles's view, the Church Knight Corps maintaining such extended troop stability was already an absurdity. After all, even their own determined city defenders nearly collapsed under wave after wave of attacks.
Even faith couldn't indefinitely suppress human instinct for survival.
"Perhaps pressured by the Pope, the king and secular nobles are actively preparing supplies and organizing logistics units to transport them to the frontlines. Our intelligence units have indeed confirmed this. The units responsible for transporting military supplies aren't wearing Holy Armor, nor are they equipped with the military flags or insignias typical of the Church of Light."
A fair fingertip rested on the slightly yellowed parchment, the pale pink nail resembles a flower blooming on paper. Amalia's gaze lingered on this line, her white-silk-clad foot slightly extending forward against the chair, revealing the pink-tinged heel and the shiny silver metal shoe body.
Charles hadn't stated it outright, but Amalia could read between the lines, his confidence in this assessment, and the faint joy hidden behind the words.
This series of changes clearly signaled they were nearing their breaking point. As long as the empire withstood the final assault, the monarchy and church would inevitably collapse first.
As long as... they held out through this last month of attacks before winter fully arrived...
Fingers gently massaging her temple, Amalia closed her eyes, carefully recalling the nearly depleted national treasury in recent days, and the stakes and promises already advanced to the nobles.
To stabilize the entire war effort, the Valeria royal family had paid too, too much. Although nobles hadn't stood idle, their sacrifices were far from reaching the point of bleeding.
If only she possessed the prestige accumulated by Hibbort, perhaps she could set lower terms in many matters and accomplish more.
Then her sister wouldn't have to rush around everywhere stabilizing the situation.
Crimson-pink lips resting against her snow-white wrist, Amalia closed her eyes and coughed lightly several times. Already awake for nearly two hours and having finished breakfast, a wave of fatigue still unconsciously surged within her.
No wonder the Valeria royal family required princes to study magic while simultaneously not wanting them to abandon martial arts and neglect their bodies.
Simply wearing this heavy crown demanded immense time and energy, without a robust physique, one couldn't endure it.
At this moment, Amalia perhaps understood why Hibbort Valeria, though medically advised could have lived several more years, had passed away so quickly.
Daily handling overwhelming political affairs, considering various demands, probing noble intentions, each matter drained mental energy. How could one possibly calm down to properly recuperate?
Feeling possibly slightly under the weather, Amalia lightly sniffled after coughing. A warm light magic activated by will envelope her body. She then raised her hand, retrieving a pure black silk shawl from within the emperor's scepter.
Silk fabric covered her exposed rounded shoulder, bringing warmth. Although it didn't match the luxurious white dress she wore, Amalia still felt waves of warmth in this late autumn.
Wait until exhaustion becomes unbearable before taking a nap.
Her sister had placed her in this position, not for resting.
Her slender frame appears even paler in the light. Amalia adjusted her skirt, drawing the layered white ceremonial silk closer to her milky-white delicate collarbone, continuing to read the intelligence report.
The Kingdom of Velys's logistics routes had essentially been figured out by Duke Charles. Currently, two options lay before Amalia.
Either ignore it and let defenders clash with the Church Knight Corps before the second defensive line, or send troops to launch a surprise attack, severing their supply lines and forcing the enemy to retreat from imperial territory.
The batch of soldiers previously trained had already been deployed to the frontline, ready to fight at any moment. Their manpower was barely sufficient.
"..."
Charles's recommendation was the first, steady and cautious.
In open-field combat, their combat effectiveness was far inferior to the Kingdom of Velys. That alone was reason enough.
Gazing at Charles's judgment, Amalia lightly tapped the desk, her two silk-stockinged legs slightly rubbing together, producing faint rustling sounds.
Now the Kingdom of Velys had only one final chance. Exposing their supply lines might not necessarily be a trap, the cunning nobles might be attempting to disperse imperial forces, eliminating their limited number of newly conscripted soldiers.
Severing logistics units to drive the enemy out of the country, then letting snowstorms cover the battlefield, gaining a five-month respite to await the kingdom's internal collapse, this sounded truly tempting for a newly ascended emperor. Risking Arcanist mages as wouldn't even be excessive.
But unfortunately, the current Amalia was sufficiently calm and wouldn't undertake such risky actions for the sake of gaining subjects' admiration or favorable publicity.
Since ascending the throne, Amalia had prioritized monitoring domestic noble attitudes, ensuring all laws and policies prevented serious internal issues.
She already held victory in her grasp, why provoke domestic unrest by prematurely deploying Arcanist mages?
"Proceed according to Duke Charles's arrangements. I will provide all necessary logistical support from the rear."
A line of delicate handwriting appears on the paper. Amalia picked up her teacup and took a sip, her eyes harboring hidden authority.
She will see who will break first, whether the attacking side, riddled with contradictions, or the defensive side, led by a newly crowned emperor, will falter under the strain.
She called a maid to summon Finance Minister Florence. Later, they will discuss cooperation between the royal family and the Velmont family, injecting new momentum into the depletion treasury, and incidentally touch upon support levels.
If the capital's situation is completely stabilized, she might even have the opportunity to inspect the frontline.
